Insurance companies have said that the average cost for a baby that has to stay in the NICU is more than $100,000, compared with just $2,000 for a normal newborn.

That’s why March of Dimes officials have said that fiscally conservative lawmakers should restore funding for prenatal care programs.

“Some babies do fine that are born prematurely, but the bulk of them do have lifelong issues that will, in the long run, cost our society much more money,” March of Dimes spokeswoman Susan Knight said.

Anthony said she agrees. With the Help of the Lawndale program, her second child was born full term. Now they’re once again helping her as she awaits her third baby, due in August.

Anthony said she believes if she had been in the prenatal care program while pregnant with her first baby, the child would have been born full-term.

“Instead of me being all clueless and stuff like that, they would have had me step by step,” she said.

Two Illinois congressmen who voted in favor of the budget cuts defended their positions.

U.S. Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Illinois) said, “Right now, the federal government is running record deficits; it simply cannot continue to spend at current levels. Due to the reckless spending of the previous Congress, tough choices are now being made and even popular programs have to be looked at.”